Join us and ten other Women’s Networks and #BEInspired

Women constitute just 14% of construction industry professionals. [1] Furthermore, the Construction Industry Training Board estimates that the UK will need to recruit more than 230,000 new employees over the next five years to deliver the number of construction projects in the pipeline. With women making up 50% of the working population of the UK, recruiting more women into the industry is essential to meeting that target and closing the skills gap. [2]

That is why the BRE Women’s Network is joining forces with ten other Women’s Networks to showcase their activities and the diverse opportunities available within the built environment, at our collaborative event at the IET Savoy Place, on 20th September #BEinspired: Stories that Push Boundaries.

Representatives of five of the networks will be giving pecha kucha style presentations, responding to challenges our industry, and the women within it, have to face. With a week to go before the event, find out who will be represented on the day:

The Women’s Engineering Society, celebrating its 97th year, was founded to support women as professional engineers in all sectors of the discipline and continues champion diversity and inclusion as a business imperative. Benita Mehra, President of WES, will be speaking on the night.

Women in Sustainable Construction and Property, is a group with a common agenda to combat climate change and share information on environmental issues in construction and property, promote corporate responsibility, and equality and diversity at work. Emma Nicholson; Director of WSCP, speaking next week, said “I think this event will be a wonderful opportunity to get an insight into [each other’s] work and show support for women in our industry.”

Women in Planning, is an informal professional network of women working in the town and spatial planning profession. The aim of the network is to empower women to be confident professionals in planning. Charlotte Morhpet, representing the network, will answer the question “What are the defining characteristics of successful professionals in your field and who can you point to as role models for these traits?” in her pecha kucha.

Women in Architecture, will be represented by Virginia Newman, who has been actively involved in matters relating to diversity since 2000 when she joined Women In Architecture. She is also involved in the creation of Architects For Change (the RIBA’s advisory group on equality and diversity issues), and represents RIBA on the CIC [Construction Industry Council] Diversity Group.[3]

Women in the Built Environment, is a network for female professionals working within the Built Environment, covering anything to do with property; planning, designing, building, surveying, even buying and selling a house. Jackie Richards, Director of Whole House Energy, will encourage and promote women joining and working in the sector.